Student's Name

1st Student's Major

Psychology

1st Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Students' Professional Biography

Samantha Tupy is a Minnesota State University Mankato Senior. She presented on "change in cultural competency among undergraduate students after an intentional human relations experience" at the Undergraduate Research Conference in Minnesota and at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research in New York. She received a Best Presentation Award at the 2011 Undergraduate Research Conference. She and her colleague, Camille McNabb, received a grant from the MSU Foundation to support this research study. She will be going on to pursue her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. Dedicated to her education, she is on the Dean’s List, received the Psychology of Women Scholarship, and is in the National Society of Leadership and Success. She plans on graduating with her bachelor degree with honors. She will be on two research teams come Fall 2011.
Camille McNabb, MN, received a Best Presentation Award at the 2011 Undergraduate Research Conference, at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She and her colleague, Samantha Tupy, received a grant from the MSU Foundation to support this research study. Ms. McNabb is a senior majoring in psychology and has been accepted into an accelerated program to earn her master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Mentor's Name

Elizabeth Sandell

Mentor's Email Address

elizabeth.sandell@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Elementary and Early Childhood Education

Mentor's College

Education

Abstract

This study measured changes in the intercultural competency of undergraduate students in a course, Human Relations in a Multicultural Society. The hypothesis for this study was that the intentional, cross-cultural experiences in the course will have an impact on the cultural competency of each student. This course is taught each semester at a Midwestern public university. The study included 70 undergraduate students between 18 and 35 years old who voluntarily enrolled in the course and represented students in academic majors such elementary education, sports management, social work, mass communications, journalism, and pre- professional studies (e.g., mortuary science, veterinary medicine, therapy). The theoretical basis of the study was the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). For this study, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used as a measure of cultural competency. The IDI was completed by subjects at the beginning of the semester and at the conclusion of the semester. This provided a process to compare pre-instruction and post-instruction scores. Data was analyzed to compare scores and to identify the cultural orientation of each student among five stages of the DMIS: Denial, Defense, Minimization, Acceptance, and Adaptation. Researchers expect that subjects will show positive gains in overall intercultural sensitivity. Results will be used by the local university to facilitate strategic initiative to educate undergraduate students in multicultural diversity.

Recommended Citation

McNabb, Camille and Tupy, Samantha
(2011)
"Change in Cultural Competency among Students during an Intentional Human Relations,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 11
, Article 7.
Available at:
http://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol11/iss1/7

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